She pushes us to one of the nearest tables and brings three bottles of soda from the bar. I don’t feel too comfortable being here, but it’s better than being at the main house. I’m still afraid one of the pack members might suddenly walk in but having Liam next to me is kind of reassuring. Liz barely looks at him, too busy focusing on me.
“Gosh, girl, you really have to tell me what happened. Things got crazy after you killed Marcus, you know.”
After I...what?
Beside me, Liam raises an eyebrow and gives me an interrogating look, but I couldn’t care less. I didn’t kill anyone! As far as I know... I shake my head. I have way too many things left unknown until now, I need to start filling in the blanks.
“Liz, please tell me what happened since I... I was gone.”
She sighs a bit too dramatically, and I can tell she’s happy to gossip. Even when she mentioned Marcus’ death, she didn’t seem sorry. She starts talking while playing with some of the sparkles on her nails.
“Well, the Alpha noticed you and your brother were gone for a while, so he sent people looking for you guys. But Alec returned alone in the middle of the night, looking like hell. I was there because I had just come home from work. He had a giant bite mark on his face, and he acted so weirdly! He said you had gone crazy and killed Marcus! And that you tried to kill him too!”
What? Alec was the one that tried to kill me! How crazy is that story! Even though I can’t exactly remember what happened with Marcus, Alec left me to die, Tonia and Bobo barely got there in time! Is Bobo the one that attacked my brother? To chase him away? I’m so shocked, I can’t speak for a moment, but Liz doesn’t notice. She starts checking her nails. Next to me, Liam is watching my reaction, but I just ignore him.
“And Vincent believed this?”
Elisabeth shakes her head.
“Not really. A lot of people didn’t. To start with, Alec was obviously attacked by a huge wolf, and we all know you can’t shift. You couldn’t possibly be that big, anyway. And Marcus’ body? Nowhere to be found. Dead or alive, he disappeared the same day as you. The guys said his apartment was a bloody mess, though. None of us really knew what to believe. You had disappeared, and your brother kept saying all this weird stuff! Some thought you might have gone crazy for real, but I didn’t, of course. I know my girl. Oh, and Vincent and Peter didn’t believe Alec either, so they told everyone to shut up until we were sure about what was going on.”
Marcus is missing? Is he dead? I know the “bloody mess” part is real, I can remember some of it now, but I’m unclear about what really happened... And it’s scarier than before, with what Elisabeth said. Did I really kill him...? I can’t remember anything but him trying to rape me, and then Alec pursuing me. But what if he is alive? Will he leave me alone? The idea alone is terrifying...
In front of me, Elisabeth’s mind has already jumped somewhere else.
“Hey, tell me what happened to you now! You look all better, girl! And I know the brand of your hoodie! Is it real?”
Elisabeth is in girl’s gossip mode, but I’m miles from it. How can she be smiling right now? It’s like she doesn’t care about all that happened. I know she wasn’t there, and she is not close to Marcus or Alec either, but... Am I the only one who thinks this whole story is crazy?
“What about Alec?” I ask, ignoring her questions. “Is he still there?”
She frowns and scratches her head, looking a bit hesitant.
“Uh... Not anymore. Things kind of got messy the week after your disappearance. Vincent was, like, super angry at him for not properly explaining what happened with Marcus and you, and a lot of people started accusing him of borrowing lots and lots of money. It seems like he even stole stuff from the main house to sell it! Can you believe that? Peter unleashed on him one day, it was crazy. He beat him really bad, and eventually banished him.”
“He did what?”
My brother got banished from the Clan? And a month ago, to boot? I’m not surprised that Peter beat him–Alec was never strong, to begin with. But where in the world could he be now? No one wants to be a Rogue! All they can do is live like beggars, stealing from other wolves, and sleeping outside all the turfs. Every pack always outcasts Rogues and won’t let them on their territory. It would be hard for him to even be in Silver City now. Did he escape to the wild like others? They say some even go back to completely wildlife and forget they were humans once.
No, wait. Alecwas spotted in the hospital days after that. So why was he looking for me? Did Alec know who had rescued me? Or was he pushed to the wall and tried to find me to help him? And there is still the Marcus matter...
“Nora, who’s the kid?”
I turn to Liam, but he is growling already. Guess the “kid” part didn’t please him... Liz immediately avoids his eyes, reacting to his Alpha aura. He may be young and not have a proper pack yet, but no one can deny Liam’s authority. He has the same dominating presence as his brothers, and Liz is just a regular wolf. He finally stops, and Elisabeth decides to address to me instead of him.
“Why did you bring a stranger to our turf? Do you want Vince to be mad as soon as you come home?”
I raise my head, shocked. To go home? Am I still considered part of the pack? I thought they might have excluded me as soon as they did for my brother! But before I can answer, Liam surprises me by being the one to raise his voice for the first time since we entered the bar.
“To be mad at her? What do you mean? Does this stupid Alpha of yours knows what’s coming to him?” He says with a mean grin.
Now Elisabeth’s smile is completely gone, and she looks petrified. I can tell she’s trying hard not to gaze into Liam’s direction and focuses on me solely.
“Nora, what does he mean? What is coming?”
But I turn to Liam and give him a “hush!” look. “Stop it. You’re not saying anything, we agreed!”
“Whatever. My brother’s going to find them, anyway. Sooner or later, your weak former Clan will be destroyed,” he shrugs
